Liquid Water Still Flows on Mars

Dark narrow streaks, hypothesized to be formed by flow of briny liquid water, emanate from the walls of Garni Crater on Mars, in this view constructed from observations by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Curiosity Rover Team Finds Ancient Lake Bed on Mars

Using data from the Curiosity rover, the team has determined that, long ago, water helped deposit sediment into Gale Crater, where the rover landed more than three years ago. The sediment deposited as layers that formed the foundation for Mount Sharp, the mountain found in the middle of the crater today.

A view from the “Kimberley” formation on Mars taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover. The strata in the foreground dip towards the base of Mount Sharp, indicating flow of water toward a basin that existed before the larger bulk of the mountain formed. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

New Measurements of Pulsating Aurorae

Thanks to a lucky conjunction of two satellites, a ground-based array of all-sky cameras, and some spectacular aurora borealis, researchers have uncovered evidence for an unexpected role that electrons have in creating the dancing auroras.

Strange Ripples Found in Planet Forming Disk

Astronomers are surprised to uncover fast-moving, wave-like features embedded in a planetary disk that are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted.

This set of images of a 40-billion-mile-diameter edge-on disk encircling the young star AU Microscopii reveals a string of mysterious wave-like features. Credit for Top Panel: NASA, ESA, G. Schneider (Steward Observatory), and the HST GO 12228 team Credit for Bottom Panels: NASA, ESA, ESO, and A. Boccaletti (Paris Observatory)

Hubble finds double black hole in nearby galaxy

Hubble Space Telescope astronomers set their sights on the nearest quasar to Earth, Markarian 231, located 581 million light-years away. Black holes — even supermassive ones — are too compact to be resolved by any present-day telescope. So, astronomers did the next best thing, measure all the light from a disk of infalling material around the black hole. The ultraviolet radiation — only measurable by Hubble — revealed evidence for a curious gap in the disk. Instead of being pancake shaped, it looks more like it has a big donut hole. The best explanation for the gap is that two black holes are orbiting each other in a dizzying dance that powers the quasar fireworks. This carves out the gap. The second black hole must have come from a smaller galaxy that merged with Markarian 231 to ignite the quasar about 1 million years ago.

Smallest supermassive black hole ever detected

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the 6.5-meter Clay Telescope in Chile have identified the smallest supermassive black hole ever detected in the center of a galaxy. This oxymoronic object could provide clues to how larger black holes formed along with their host galaxies 13 billion years or more in the past.

First ever aurora beyond our solar system

Astronomers have discovered the first aurora ever seen in an object beyond our Solar System. The aurora — similar to the famous “Northern Lights” on Earth — is 10,000 times more powerful than any previously seen. They found the aurora not from a planet, but from a low-mass star at the boundary between stars and brown dwarfs.

Artist conception of an aurora over the polar region of a brown dwarf. Credit: Chuck Carter and Gregg Hallinan, Caltech.

Diminutive dwarf galaxy unexpectedly a star forming powerhouse

A nearby dwarf galaxy poses an intriguing mystery: How is it able to form brilliant star clusters without the dusty, gas-rich environments found in larger galaxies? The answer, astronomers believe, lies in densely packed and previously unrecognized nuggets of star-forming material sprinkled throughout the galaxy.

New detailed images of Ceres bright spots

Early in 2015, mysterious bright spots were discovered on the dwarf planet Ceres by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. Now those spots have been observed with the closest-yet views of Occator crater, with a resolution of 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel, give scientists a deeper perspective on these very unusual features. “Soon, the scientific analysis will reveal the geological and chemical nature of this mysterious and mesmerizing extraterrestrial scenery,” said Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer and mission director based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

We’re currently in the process of pushing through some updates to the Winnipeg RASC website this weekend. After some research and feedback, we’ve opted to make a few design and feature changes, especially now that we’re more aware of what you all want in our online presence.

When the site was initially revamped about a year ago, we created accounts for everyone in the club at that point using our member roster with the National RASC. Due to a variety of reasons (Email set up with national not the same as the one you actually use, not remembering the username or password that was created for you, etc.), this led to a lot of confusion. What we have opted to do is to start from a clean slate and blow out all of the existing accounts in the database, and have you create your accounts on your own terms. After you do so and you’re a registered member, just head to the Contact Form to have your RASC membership privileges granted.

The discussion forum has been removed due to lack of use, but we are hoping there will be more participation in the form of the photo gallery which is in the final stages of being prepped for launch. The gallery will permit members to upload and share astronomical images with the club and the public without cluttering the inboxes of the people on the mailing list. We’ve settled on the free WordPress Photo Album Plus plugin for now, but we are still entertaining upgraded and/or paid options with additional features. We’re going to be relying on your feedback to plan on how we will be moving forward on that front.

Our news section is also live, and will be updated regularly by astronomers in our club regarding events in the sky, as well as going ons down here on the ground below. We hope to have a constant stream of information to keep you all coming here for the latest news in the club and astronomy in Manitoba.

Finally, you may have noticed the new stunning background by none other than our own president Jay Anderson. We are hoping to have a trend of updating our look once a month or so with submissions from you, our members. If you’ve got an image you think would work great as eye-candy for the site, feel free to submit it using our Contact Form!

As always, we very much value your feedback. If you have any questions, comments of concerns, just get in touch with the Contact Form.